CA Glue Questions

[James E Gaydos]

I was in a situation the other day while turning a spalted Red Oak vessel. The spalted area was a bit punky at the bottom and I wanted to try and save it.

My questions , Is there a way to thin Thick CA glue, and what would one use to do this, I only had the thick stuff, and I wanted to soak the area with glue.
The thick was to thick.
Thank you, Jim

 

[john lucas]

The only way I have thinned it is with thin CA. you might try Acetone but I would certainly run a test. Thin a sample and put a drop on a piece of glass or plastic and let it dry. If it does dry then your OK.
I use thinned lacquer to stiffen wood fibers instead of CA. It's less expensive and seems to penetrate the wood really well. It sometimes takes multiple coats.

 

[Alan Trout]

Actually acetone is part of the aggressive or fast accelerators so I don't think it would work. I would just get some thin and not try to thin the thick.

Alan

 

[MichaelMouse]

Actually acetone is part of the aggressive or fast accelerators so I don't think it would work. I would just get some thin and not try to thin the thick.

Strange. I use acetone soaks for cleaning my clogged nozzles. Also as a debonder, though it's slower than the stuff sold for the purpose. I've never tried to get the goo to cure after being dissolved in acetone, so I can't say if it might be used to "thin" it.

http://www.caglue.com/assets/msds/ncf.pdf
http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/MSDS/Zip Kicker - Other Products - ZAP Products - MSDS.pdf

Acetone is absent in the Googled first two, anyway. Non flammability of my bottles would seem to mitigate against acetone, though my nose says no as well. CA wants high pH and moisture to cure, from all I can find. Acetone wouldn't supply either.

 

[hockenbery]

Unless the punk is really bad you can prevent tearout and get a clean cut by wetting the surface with water, thin shellac, thin lacquer like John, or even Watco.

Water will swell the fibers and hold them together.
The lacquer and shellac sort of hold the fibers together.
The water can be turned wet and the thin lacquer an thin shellac take a couple of minutes to dry.

Water is for the less serious punk
CA for the serious falling out punky wood
Thin lacquer or thin shellac for the in between.
Sharp tools light cuts reduce tear too


Al

 

[Alan Trout]

Strange. I use acetone soaks for cleaning my clogged nozzles. Also as a debonder, though it's slower than the stuff sold for the purpose. I've never tried to get the goo to cure after being dissolved in acetone, so I can't say if it might be used to "thin" it.

http://www.caglue.com/assets/msds/ncf.pdf
http://www.topmark.co.nz/reference/MSDS/Zip Kicker - Other Products - ZAP Products - MSDS.pdf

Acetone is absent in the Googled first two, anyway. Non flammability of my bottles would seem to mitigate against acetone, though my nose says no as well. CA wants high pH and moisture to cure, from all I can find. Acetone wouldn't supply either.

It is not in all activators but the more aggressive ones it is. I prefer the aggressive or faster activators for what I use it for and I use a lot of it. I use close to 24oz a month of CA and probably that much or more activator. This is directly from the label on my EZ Bond bottle of activator. This is the brand I use most of the time.

"Contains acetone and aromatic amine. Avoid prolonged or repeated contact with skin or breathing the vapors. Use only with adequate ventilation. If swallowed induce vomiting and contact a physician. In case of contact with the skin or eyes, flush with water. Keep away from ignition sources. Avoid heat, sparks, and open flames."

Its pretty safe stuff😀

Alan

I agree with Al I have had great success with the methods that he talks about.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Acetone might be fine for an aerosol CA accelerator, but I suspect that the acetone may be there mostly for the purpose of being carrier for the amine which I suspect is the real accelerator (I am sure that everybody knows how well the alpha-amino acids in our skin work as an accelerator).

 

[Alan Trout]

Bill, you are correct it is the Amine that is the accelerator but I use non aerosol accelerator It is my understanding that approximately 95 percent of what is in my accelerator is acetone. Talking to a friend of mine that is a chemist the acetone is more or less a carrier and it evaporates quickly so it helps it cure faster. It may be more technical than this but this is in laymen terms it was put to me.

To be back on point I do not think I would use acetone to thin my CA. Just buy the thin stuff. I know it works.

 

[gary rock]

James

Starbond sells water thin or as they call it very thin. I have used it for punky wood, good resluts. But before putting it on your piece, I would coat the surrounding area with Shelac to keep it at bay the thin glue. Sharpen your tool and cut the bad wood away.
CHP International 1-800-900-4583. WWW.starbond.com

Gary:cool2:

 

[Bill Boehme]

I agree with Alan, just buy thin CA. I don't think that trying to thin the thicker stuff is going to work very well.

Until fairly recently, I used massive amounts of CA and I still have about five pints of CA in the fridge, but I have decided that using it on soft punky wood often creates more problems than it is worth, the worst being that it almost instantly dulls tools. Using it to fill voids is problematic also from the perspective that it tends to chip easily and if used on exposed edges like the outer rim of a platter, it is almost impossible to avoid chipping. I am also getting tired of bonding my fingers to things (have you ever tried to drag a 700 lb. lathe to where you could reach a bottle of debonder 😀).